Role and Education of Engineers Face Change in Wake of Computers

Abstract

The engineer of the 1990s will be—must be—different from the engineer of the 1980s. Consequently, engineering education also must change. That was the gist of a recent Purdue conference on University Programs in Computer-Aided Engineering, Design, and Manufacturing. More than 400 engineers, from industry as well as from engineering schools, attended. The meeting was organized by Purdue's school of mechanical engineering, so the program stressed the impact that modern information processing technology is having on mechanical engineers. However, much of what was said was just as applicable to other engineering disciplines. In the opening session, for example, Paul J. Wondrasch, vice president of technology planning for AT&T Technologies, told of the challenges that face U.S. industry. Meeting these challenges will place new demands on engineers and, by extension, on those who educate engineers. We live in a remarkably technology-rich era, Wondrasch observes, noting that three technologies in particular—mi...